Miami’s Best-Reviewed Restaurants of 2016

So many of us would like to forget this past year happened. There was the mind-numbing presidential election, plus a barrage of sucker punches in the deaths of greats Alan Rickman, David Bowie, Prince, Gene Wilder, and Harper Lee. The Miami dining scene provided a respite. The onslaught of mediocre celebrity-backed…

Miami December 2016 Restaurant Openings and Closings

December is traditionally a hot time for restaurants to open in Miami. Between Art Basel and tourist season, chefs and investors hustle to take advantage of visitors to our city in an attempt to kickstart business. Of course, a restaurant also has to woo its local patrons to ensure a steady stream of income.

Gin + Collins, Stocked With Craft Gin and Tonic, Opens in Miami Beach

When the AC Hotel opened in June 2015, it gave Miami Beach a swank, affordable cocktail lounge. Now the bar, which remained unnamed for about a year and a half, has officially opened as Gin + Collins. It’s located in the same space as the hotel’s earlier cocktail lounge, where Jennifer Massolo, founder of the Liquid Projects and the Craft Spirits & Beer Festival, created and curated its original beverage program.

‘O Munaciello’s Authentic Neapolitan Pizza Coming to Miami

A restaurant with roots in Florence, Italy will open its first U.S. restaurant early next year, and its owner has chosen Miami’s MiMo district to debut the stateside iteration. The restaurant is known as ‘O Munaciello, a well-known and longstanding pizzeria built in an annex of the 17th century Florentine Santo Spirito Basilica. When it opens in early 2017 at 6425 Biscayne Blvd., expect authentic cuisine and from Italy’s Campania region some real deal Neapolitan pizza.

The Five Best Alfresco Brunches to Enjoy During the Holiday Season

The best way to spread some holiday cheer is through food and drink. Luckily, Miami is a playground for inventive restaurants, offering everything from lavish, booze-flowing outposts to intimate spaces with ingredient-driven menus. Besides lunch and dinner outings, make sure to add an alfresco brunch to your to-do list this holiday season. As the weather cools, Miami’s brunch scene has largely moved outdoors, creating fun and inviting environments filled with pork belly sliders, shakshuka, and meringue-infused sweets. Grab your fanciest hat and largest shades because these are the five best places across town to snag a tasty brunch-inspired meal under the warm winter sun.

Dishes for Dogs Offers Gourmet Meals for Your Pup in Wynwood

You see them all over Miami: pampered pups riding in pastel strollers or walking on Louis Vuitton leashes. Pooches dine on freshly baked doggie biscuits at tony restaurants. Heck, there’s even a special South Beach Wine & Food Festival event, Yappy Hour, that caters to dogs. To these pooches and…

Edukos, a Venezuelan-American Gastropub, to Open in Downtown in 2017

In 2017, Miami can expect one eatery wildly different from anything seen this past year. Edukos describes itself as “an exuberant tavern for the adventurous.” Inspired to name his restaurant for the Latin word educo, which means “to lead, to draw out,” founder/owner John Guilarte wants to encourage diners to try new foods and build new experiences.

Three Crazy Burgers to Try at Mooyah, Now Open in Miami and Doral

Mooyah Burgers, Fries & Shakes is expanding its reach in South Florida with the opening of a second Miami-area restaurant, part of a fast-track growth plan spearheaded by franchisee Enzo Di Giovanni. The new Mooyah restaurant opened December 15 at 2000 NW 87th Ave. in Doral, one of several additional locations the restaurateur plans to launch as part of a six-unit deal to expand the company throughout Miami-Dade County.

NYC’s the Halal Guys Are Opening Their First Florida Restaurant in Davie, With More to Come

Attention, New Yorkers: The Halal Guys are headed for South Florida.For all of you Miamians, if you don’t already know about the Halal Guys’ famous fare, you better keep reading. When the popular Manhattan-born brand opens its first Florida restaurant in the Tower Shops in Davie next month, just know the gyros (and that white sauce) will most certainly be worth the drive out of town.

My Ceviche Opens in Midtown Miami With Fresh Poke Bowls

My Ceviche, the fast-casual seafood restaurant by partners Sam Gorenstein and Roger Duarte, has opened its midtown Miami location. This marks a new look and menu for the small local chain. Along with offering its signature ceviches and burritos, My Ceviche has introduced items such as fresh made-in-house juices and build-your-own tacos, burritos, salads, and bowls.

Paula DaSilva’s Christmas Is All About Feasting With Family

Paula DaSilva recently celebrated 30 years since moving to the United States from Brazil, but her home country, a land best known for soccer stars and samba, is still in her heart, especially around the holidays. “It’s customary to celebrate Christmas Eve. It’s sort of our really big holiday there. It’s a huge party of food and a smorgasbord of all kinds of stuff,” she says.

Chef Niven Patel Reinvents Indian Food in Miami

A wide grin spreads over Niven Patel’s black-bearded face as he emerges from his gray stucco house in Homestead and strides into the backyard he’s slowly converting into a farm. His thick-framed Ray-Ban eyeglasses disappear into a dense crop of hair that swivels side-to-side as he surveys rows and rows…

The Thx Co. Sates Your Coffee Needs While Donating to a Good Cause

Ricardo Jose Bueso is only 25 years old but already has the philanthropic spirit and business savvy of the Dalai Lama and Warren Buffet put together. Last year, he, along with his brother Ricardo Juan, founded the Thx Co., a “social good” brand company based in Hollywood that allows customers to donate to any nonprofit of their choosing with the purchase of the company’s products.

The Five Best Miami Restaurants to Close in 2016

The restaurant losses of 2016 might have been some of the most staggering of any recent year. Sure, we lament the good food we can no longer enjoy at these establishments, but even worse is the city lost the work of many chefs pushing the local culinary scene forward.

Cake Thai Kitchen Opens Today in Wynwood

Cake Thai Kitchen, helmed by chef Phuket Thongsodchaveondee (who goes by the name of Cake), finally opened its second location in Wynwood at 180 NW 29th St. today. The restaurant opens on the heels of Miami’s largest happening, Art Basel, but partner Javier Ramirez says that was out of their hands. “We…

Sweet Liberty’s Brunch Is Miami’s Best Hangover Cure

Here’s the scenario: It’s Sunday afternoon, and you just woke up. Feeling fuzzy with a slight headache, you recall having a wee bit too much fun at last evening’s holiday fete. You pop a few Tylenol and vaguely recall making plans to get together with your squad today. No worries…